Katie and E.T. Sawyer, outside their shop, are ready for the crab and 

 eel season in the region. 



An employee cuts measured sections of wire mesh in preparation for 

 the construction of new eel pots. 



"We used to take the wire sections to a 

 machine shop to shape them. But one of the 

 men came up with the idea of using the paint 

 can. It's exactly the right circumference and 

 works just fine." 



The height of technology for the process 

 is the high-pressure stapler used to secure the 

 seams with fasteners. 



Next, the worker inserts a polyester 

 funnel, 10 inches from the top of the cylinder, 

 and ties it to opposite sides of the cylinder, 

 pulling the unstitched funnel bottom closed. 

 A second funnel, placed higher, is tied at four 

 points, keeping the funnel bottom open to 

 allow the eel to swim inside and take the bait. 

 Bait is packed around the top funnel. 



To complete the eel pot, the employee 

 secures the escape panel, bottom, and the top 

 door opening. In all, it takes less than an hour 

 to complete the task — not counting the time 

 it takes Katie Sawyer to cut and sew a supply 

 of polyester funnels with two or four ties. 



Why are the eel pots black or dark 

 green, while crab pots are so colorful? 



E.T. explains that some say that eels, 

 being bottom swimmers and nocturnal 

 feeders, are scared off by bright colors. Or, he 

 says pragmatically, it could be that size mesh 

 is available only in black or green. 



LIVING HISTORY 



But eel pots are not always cylindrical. 

 What's more, eels once were plentiful to the 

 point of being a nuisance species in the state's 

 estuaries, rivers and tributaries, E.T. says. 



He leads us outside for a surprising 

 history lesson. 



"This is the River Ox. I'm told that a 

 couple of hundred boats just like this one, 

 complete with an outboard motor and a dozen 

 or so eel pots, were given away by some 

 federal program in the mid-1970s. It was part 

 of an effort to develop a commercial eel 

 fishery here," he says. "This boat really is an 

 ox. It's indestructible." 



E.T. pulls a square-shaped eel pot from 

 storage. 'This is one of the eel pots they gave 

 away. The program was a good idea that never 

 quite caught on, for whatever the reasons." 



Turns out, East Carolina Industries — 

 at that time affiliated with the federally funded 

 Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers Associa- 

 tion — provided the boats on a pay-back basis 

 to 125 eel fishers who had gone through their 

 training program. It was part of a broader 

 initiative by a number of federal agencies, 

 including the Coastal Plains Center for Marine 

 Development Services, attempting to foster 

 economic development opportunities in 

 depressed areas at that time. 



Beginning in 1972, Sea Grant agents also 

 were laying the groundwork for a commercial 

 eel fishery. According to an early Sea Grant 

 publication, the idea was to "turn the plentiful 

 nuisance into a big-time, profitable commercial 

 crop." Developing this underutilized species 

 could assist small fishing operations with 

 limited income potential. 



At that time, eel typically was commer- 

 cially caught for crab bait, bringing no more 

 than 18 cents a pound. If channels could be 

 opened. North Carolina eels could bring at least 

 50 cents a pound on the world market. While 

 U.S. consumer demand for eels was practically 

 nonexistent, Europe, Japan and China were 

 reportedly consuming a total of 60,000 tons of 

 eels annually. 



Sea Grant staff conducted workshops on 

 eel harvesting and handling techniques. They 

 demonstrated eel pot construction, made 

 arrangements for facilities to hold live eels for 

 shipment, came up with ways to transport live 

 eels from holding areas, and located exporters. 



By 1974, there were 200 licensed eel 

 fishers in the state and four exporters — with 

 exports up to half-million pounds. 



Sea Grant agents began to exlore a new 

 avenue — eel aquaculture. "It was the next 

 logical step, and federal funding was avail- 



Continued 



COASTWATCH 13 



